Lorentz National Park is an Indonesian national park located in the provinces of Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua, in the southwest of western New Guinea. It covers an area of 25,056 square kilometers (9,674 square miles) and is the largest national park in Southeast Asia. In 1999, Lorentz was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Lorentz National Park is an outstanding example of the biodiversity of New Guinea. It is one of the most ecologically diverse national parks in the world. It is the only nature reserve in the Asia-Pacific region that includes a full range of ecosystems at different heights, such as marine areas, mangroves, tidal and freshwater swamp forests, lowland and montane rainforests, subalpine shrub and grassland, alpine tundra, and equatorial glaciers. Puncak Jaya (formerly Carstensz Pyramid), which is 4,884 meters tall, is the tallest mountain between the Himalayas and the Andes.

BirdLife International has called Lorentz Park "probably the single most important reserve in New Guinea." The park contains five of World Wildlife Fund’s "Global 200" ecoregions: Southern New Guinea Lowland Forests; New Guinea Montane Forests; New Guinea Central Range Subalpine Grasslands; New Guinea Mangroves; and New Guinea Rivers and Streams.

Lorentz Park includes many areas that have not yet been mapped or explored. It is likely to contain many species of plants and animals that scientists have not yet discovered. Local communities have valuable knowledge about the plants and animals in Lorentz, but this knowledge is not well recorded.

The park is named after Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz, a Dutch explorer who traveled through the area during his 1909–10 expedition.

Birds

Lorentz National Park is home to 630 recorded bird species, which is about 95% of all bird species found in Papua. The park also has 123 mammal species. Among the birds are two cassowary species, 31 dove and pigeon species, and 60 kingfisher species. Six bird species are found only in the Snow Mountains, including the Snow Mountain quail and Snow Mountains robin. Twenty-six bird species are found only in the Central Papuan Ranges, and three are found only in the South Papuan Lowlands. Threatened species in the park include the southern cassowary, Alpine woolly rat, southern crowned pigeon, Pesquet's parrot, Salvadori's teal, and Macgregor's giant honeyeater.

The mammal species include the long-beaked echidna, short-beaked echidna, four cuscus species, wallabies, quolls, and tree-kangaroos. The dingiso, a type of tree-kangaroo, is found only in the Sudirman Range and was discovered in 1995.

Human habitation and culture

The national park has been lived in for more than 25,000 years. The forests of Lorentz include the traditional lands of eight indigenous groups, such as the Asmat, Amung, Dani, Sempan, and Nduga. Experts estimate that the current population ranges from 6,300 to 10,000.

Successful protection of the park's biodiversity requires that conservation plans consider the needs and wishes of these groups. Cultural diversity is also an important factor in measuring the park's success.

Ecological threats

The main dangers to the variety of plants and animals in Lorentz Park include commercial logging, changing forests into farmland for plantations, small farms converting forest areas, mining and oil/gas development, illegal road building, and the illegal trading of animals and plants. Global warming is also a major threat.

As of 2005, there were no reports of large-scale logging or other major threats inside the park. There are no active projects to change forests into farmland, and farming-related changes are very small. The illegal trade of animals and plants is a serious problem. A large gold and copper mining operation called Freeport has been active for many years near the park but does not operate inside the park. Oil exploration is happening inside the park and to the northeast.

The overall health of the plants and animals in Lorentz Park is currently very good. Although logging and other threats have not happened yet, they may become problems in the future. Climate change is a real threat, but its exact effects on the park are not known.

The Trans-Papua Highway project plans to build 120 miles (190 km) of roads through the area. Some roads will make it easier to reach mining areas inside the park.

Conservation

In 1919, the Dutch Colonial Government officially protected a 3,000 km² main area of the Lorentz landscape by creating the Lorentz Nature Monument. In 1978, the Indonesian Government established a Strict Nature Reserve covering 21,500 km². Lorentz National Park was created in 1997, with a total area of 25,056 km², including an eastern extension and coastal and marine regions.

Lorentz National Park was added to the list of natural World Heritage Sites in 1999. However, an area of about 1,500 km² was not included in the listing because mining exploration permits existed in that region.

As of 2005, no park staff or guards were assigned to Lorentz. The park’s success depends largely on the support and understanding of local communities for conservation efforts, rather than relying only on outside enforcement. Several conservation organizations are active in the Lorentz area.

In 2006, the Minister of Forestry created a management structure for Lorentz National Park, called the Lorentz National Park Bureau, with its headquarters in Wamena. The Bureau became operational in 2007 and had 44 staff members by mid-2008. However, a UNESCO Monitoring Mission in 2008 noted that the Bureau had limited capacity due to a lack of resources, equipment, and experience.